1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein are related to automated environment control system operation and more particularly, to systems and methods for controlling the operation of a motorized vents in an environment control system.
2. Related Art
Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems provide control over the indoor environment of buildings through heating, cooling, and air circulation. Rising energy costs have driven manufacturers to make an effort to make these systems more energy efficient; however, even the most energy efficient HVAC systems can still waste energy by heating or cooling unoccupied spaces within a building. For example, in a multi-story home, occupants may be downstairs during the day and move upstairs at night. Accordingly, it can be inefficient and costly to heat or cool the upstairs during the day and the downstairs at night.
Conventional HVAC systems have a central heating and cooling unit that pushes air into various rooms through ducts with outlets in the rooms. The outlets are typically covered by a vent covering that includes adjustable louvers. Accordingly, one could adjust the louvers to make heating and cooling more efficient, but this is time consuming and often difficult due to the location of the vent coverings.
Other multi-room buildings can also suffer from similar inefficiencies. For example, suites or other multi-room facilities in hotels can have multiple rooms or outlets controlled by a single heating and air conditioning unit. Office buildings also often have multiple offices or rooms controlled by a single unit.
Conventional HVAC systems do not provide the ability to control the flow of air such that it only goes to occupied portions of the building, or where it is needed.